Oh my, oh my, a lucky guy…
A lucky guy am I.
I fix a feast for friends tonight…
And the type of the food…is Thai!
Even as I write, even as you read, prep is underway for tonight’s dinner party, featuring the fabulous food of Thailand, along with the oh-so-pairable David Rosengarten Wines for Food.
And there’s another facet of my luck: shopping in New York City! Just name your ethnicity, and I can pretty much guarantee a one-stop shop. For tonight’s meal, for example, I headed down to Manhattan’s Chinatown where, after the requisite shrimp-and-pork dumplings at Yee Li, I walked a few blocks to Bangkok Center Grocery, at 104 Mosco Street, just a half block from Mott Street at its heart. It’s a fairly small shop, but you can find anything Thai that your little heart desires.
Take a look through the goodies I hauled home…then I’ll give you the menu I’m working on right now!
The jewel of Bangkok Center Grocery is the refrigerator in the rear left of the store…a refrigerator containing fresh versions of all the Thai groceries you dream about:
Starfruit
Keffir lime leaves
Fresh galanga root
Lemongrass
Bird peppers
Holy basil
Thai eggplants
Durian cake
Frozen coconut milk from Thailand
Then, of course, hundreds of unrefrigerated Thai specialties are available:
Three Thai Skewers, Grilled:
Wagyu Beef with Fish Sauce and Cilantro
Pork Belly with Massaman Curry Paste
Shrimp with Green Curry Paste
Three Vegetables, Thai-Style:
Cucumber Spears with Chili and Peanut
Beets with Thai Shrimp Paste and Dried Shrimps
String Beans with Fried Shallots
2004 Michel Gonet Champagne, The Nude
FIRST SIT DOWN COURSE
Pork Larb with Snow Ears and Fresh Herbs (see a how-to video here!)
2001 Wallufer Walkenberg Riesling Kabinett
IN-BETWEEN COURSE
Tom Ka Gai
(Creamy Thai Chicken Soup)
2012 Alte Reben Riesling Trocken, Philipp Kuhn, Pfalz
MAIN COURSE
Duck Kaprow with Thai Eggplant and Holy Basil
2009 Spätburgunder (Pinot Noir), Philipp Kuhn, Pfalz
DESSERT
Cold Coconut Cream Soup with Durian Paste and Tapioca Pearls
All right, back to work…will share photos later!
